President Obama’s Second Term Quietly Starts Today

#inaug2013: President Obama’s second term quietly starts today, January 20, 2013. He will be sworn in privately about 11:55 a.m. Sunday and will have a public swearing-in Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

New York Times: “President Obama will be quietly sworn into office for a second term just before noon on Sunday in a brief White House ceremony, a day before Monday’s far showier public inaugural events, adhering to a long tradition of doing so out of the public eye when Jan. 20 falls on a Sunday.”

“The oath is to be administered by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. in the Blue Room, an elegant, gilded space with a sweeping view of the South Lawn. The bare-bones ceremony, typically lasting no more than three minutes, will satisfy the constitutional requirement that the president’s swearing-in take place by noon on the Jan. 20 after an election.”

Washington Post: “The day began with a morning swearing-in ceremony for Vice President Joe Biden, committing him to four more years as the nation’s second in command. Biden then joined the president at Arlington National Cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony on a crisp, sun-splashed January day.”

VP Joe Biden’s swearing-in occurred at 8:21 a.m. at his residence at the Naval Observatory with his family. He was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. According to the pool report, after taking the oath, he kissed Justice Sotomayor and told her it was a honor. Here’s a photograph that will rile neo-cons:

Vice President Joe Biden sworn into second term by SCOTUS Justice Sonia Sotomayor